It's not every day that a fast-tracking executive dumps a lucrative career. Yet Microsoft high-flyer John Wood did just that in 2000 so he could dedicate his life to ending illiteracy around the world.

"I was the imperfect person to do this, but I stepped in because I got really annoyed," says Wood.

In 1998, Microsoft's 35-year-old Director of Business Development for the Greater China Region took a vacation that changed his life. Trekking through a remote Himalayan village, he was invited by a local teacher to visit their school. Wood was shocked to see the school's 20 tattered books were locked away to protect them from the students.

"It was an experience I'll never forget," says Wood, who founded the award-winning, non-profit organization Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org) to give the world's children the lifelong gift of education.

"The fact is almost one billion people are illiterate in the world," says Wood. "That trip opened my eyes. I saw that we weren't doing enough to combat the problem and every day we did nothing was a day lost. We were missing the boat -- and the opportunity to help educate the poorest of children when their developing brains are most receptive."

Since Room to Read's inception in 2000, 1.3 million in kids in Vietnam, Laos, India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Zambia now have access to enhanced education infrastructure. Wood's initiative has also opened 287 schools, established over 3,800 bilingual libraries, created 136 new computer and language rooms, funded long-term scholarships for 3,448 girls and put more than three million books into the hands of eager young readers.

Even former U.S. President Bill Clinton is supporting Room to Read's platform, as is talk show titan Oprah Winfrey, who invited Wood to her show in February of 2007.

"People ask me a lot about being on Oprah," Wood smiles. "I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be on her show and promote our cause. But celebrity isn't all there is to this initiative. It's about real people doing extraordinary things. That's where the real power lies in Room to Read."

As Wood says, "Education is the ticket out of poverty. Who hasn't had one relative in their family that broke the cycle of poverty by betting educated?"

With thousands of village anxious to work with Room to Read, Wood says, "We have great local teams. We also have an amazing local language children publishing program where local artists create children's books. But it all comes down to continuing the scale of the work we're doing."

On October 19th, the Toronto chapter of Room to Read will host "An Evening with John Wood" (6:30 pm - 8:30 pm) at the RBC Plaza. The city's inaugural Room to Read event, "A Novel Affair," took place in December of 2006.

David Pullara, Room to Read's current Toronto Chair, first heard about the organization at a presentation Wood made to the Starbucks Coffee Corporation. Noting that Toronto was not highlighted on Wood's map of fundraising chapters, Pullara took up challenge to add Toronto to the list.

"Waving that challenge in front of David was like waving a red flag in front of a bull," says Wood. Thanks to Pullara and his team's efforts, Toronto's inaugural event raised $28,936.29 CDN for Room to Read. The proceeds helped build a school in Nepal and provide full scholarships to five Nepalese girls.

"We've got a few surprises planned for this year's event," says Wood. "One thing I can tell you is that one wealthy Canadian entrepreneur has promised to match the figure raised in Toronto. It will be at least six figures, and that's money that will help change a lot of kids' lives."